Miscellaneous 07/24/2010
Amongst those with whom I enjoy a 'virtual' relationship within the world-wide-web, quite a few are much younger than me - and the likely reason for this age discrepancy is that I may have been chosen as a 'friend' or am being 'followed' because I'm Lloyd's dad. Going on from that, some of these acquaintances may have experienced a similar background to him; going to university during 'the Thatcher years', for example, and, as a consequence, developed a distinctly unfavourable impression of the Tories. For whatever reason, these sentiments seem to be difficult to disguise - let alone ignore - and, since I sometimes have little better to do during an unwelcome retirement, I may have been guilty of a mischievous tweet from time to time in order to get a reaction. There is no malice intended and those to whom this might apply know who they are - and this is for them...... Almost as soon as I was old enough to have an informed opinion, I realised that I didn't feel a particular attachment to any political party. As time passed, however, although not always agreeing with their policies, it seemed to me that insofar as Conservative candidates were concerned, what you saw was what you got. Very few, for example, denied their connections with commerce and industry and it really wasn't surprising that their policies reflected that fact. Sadly, the same could not be said for many of those who claim to represent 'the left'. In my lifetime, from Harold Wilson through to Neil Kinnock and John Prescott, I can't begin to imagine how many Labour politicians were anxious to be seen to pour scorn on The Establishment - only to abandon their socialist principles the moment the offer of a lucrative directorship or a peerage came into the equation. If ever examples of poachers becoming gamekeepers were needed, look no further - and, although they are unlikely to admit it, I do wonder if some may have been inadvertently influenced by Churchill's words, " If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain." From their constituents' point of view, however, what they saw certainly wasn't what they ended up getting. Interestingly, as if to demonstrate the wisdom of Sir Winston's words, as I have matured over the past half-century, I've voted for all three major UK parties. What's more, I voted for the Green party during the most recent election; so, it could be said that my political views have been fairly eclectic. That said, my contempt for those described in the previous paragraph is such that I would find it difficult to bring myself to vote in a manner which might contribute towards a Labour victory. Now, these sentiments don't make me blind to the shortcomings of the Conservatives. Much though I admired Mrs. Thatcher for curtailing the entirely inappropriate influence the trade unions were enjoying in the sixties and seventies, I looked forward to the 'new dawn' promised by New Labour in the nineties - only to be amongst many who were disappointed by the deceit of Messrs. Mandelson, Campbell, Blair, Brown & Company. It is in this respect (deceit) where I believe the right-wing of UK politics differ from the left - because, whether you agree with them, or not - what the Conservatives deliver is what is expected of them. In a nutshell and to coin a modern phrase, they do what it says on the tin. The same, however, could not be said of the Labour party during my lifetime and, whilst I sympathise with those who seem unable to recognise the difference, I find it very difficult to understand why. So, to sum up; I despise anyone who knowingly purports to be one thing and turns out to be something entirely different. I find it much easier to respect an imperfect person (who admits to their shortcomings) than one who may be better - but not what they claim to be. Paradoxically - and to demonstrate this sentiment - as much as I deplored the damage he did to the reputation of this country (industrial action was known as the British disease during the eighties), when Arthur Scargill formed his own political party to stand against official Labour candidates, although I had no sympathy with his political views, the fact that he was true to his convictions persuaded me to send him a cash donation. Finally, based on Sir Winston's theory on maturing responsibly, my own life, to some extent, could hardly be described as 'text-book'. For example, I started off voting Tory but graduated towards a more liberal stance. Further evidence of a rather back-to-front pattern can be seen in some other respects, too. Instead of taking a 'gap year' before a working life, I was nearly 60 when I drove across the USA, approaching 70 when I embarked on a solo visit to Patagonia and Peru and, as I write, I'm looking into the prospect of sailing around the south Pacific islands in a cargo-boat in an effort to re-live experiences I enjoyed as a DUKW driver during the UK nuclear tests in the fifties. I'm sure at some time in my life, I will have claimed to be normal; so, perhaps, I should think again before being so adamant that I despise anyone who knowingly purports to be one thing and turns out to be something entirely different. Miscellaneous 06/14/2010
An acquaintance has pointed out similarities between a recent photograph of myself returning from a walk..........  ........and the cover of a book.........  ......I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or give a 'V' sign. Miscellaneous 06/06/2010
Having been home for a couple of days, I've had time to reflect on our Golden Wedding Tour of New York and New England and have begun to realise (probably, for the first time) that advancing years are beginning to have an effect; if not (yet) upon the state of my mind, then, almost certainly upon my physical condition.  Now, I recognise there are factors which may have exacerbated the situation (jet-travel, different water, cuisine, time zones and weather conditions, for example). Furthermore, there are some irritations which can strike at any age; like these insect bites which I may have received during our last walk around Lloyd's garden. Unfortunately, however, the fact of the matter is that I've rarely experienced so many minor complaints within such a short period of time - and the conclusion I have drawn from these somewhat aggravating circumstances is that my body may not be as robust as it was - and (more importantly) as I imagine it actually is. Perhaps, I should think about spending a little less time with my laptop and getting a little more exercise. There may be occasions, however, when that might be more easily said than done......  .........Lloyd's family cat, Cato, making himself comfortable. Miscellaneous 06/05/2010
In the original timetable for our visit to the USA, we had intended to return on the Tuesday after Memorial Day. However, when we made those plans, we hadn't known that the performing arts school which our elder grandson attends was holding an end of term concert on that very day. Obviously, it would have been extremely disappointing to miss the performance; so, I contacted Virgin Atlantic to change our flight to the following day. Not really surprisingly, the students put on a good show and we were glad to have been there to see it. Furthermore, it was quite interesting to see Lloyd doing a pretty good impersonation of myself being 'father of the singer'. Sadly, much of the following day was somewhat less enjoyable. For a start, it was hard to ignore an element of impending doom as our departure approached. Secondly, our younger grandson was feeling quite ill. He was, later, diagnosed with what is called strep throat in the States. At the same time, having not expected us to be there, Lloyd had arranged to rehearse with his new ensemble. So, apart from strolling around to admire the work they had done in the garden during the visit, there wasn't an awful lot his mum and I could do.   All in all, it was something of a relief when the time came for Lloyd to drive us to Boston. By the way, there can be few airports (at Terminal E, at any rate) where it is easier to get from a car to the check-in desk and this - apart from an unfortunate encounter with the resident security jobsworth - contributed significantly towards a comfortable couple of hours as we waited to board our AIRBUS aircraft......  From take-off to touch-down, the flight was excellent and the wheelchair assistance at Heathrow was significantly better than we experienced at JFK. Adam, our younger son was there to meet us and although we felt quite well when we arrived home, it wasn't too long before jet-lag kicked in and we spent most of the day asleep - dreaming, no doubt, about an experience we'll cherish for a long time. Miscellaneous 05/31/2010
Following on from my previous blog, I'm afraid the benefits I hoped to gain from a hot bath proved to be short-lived because it soon became apparent that I was a couple of stages beyond being knackered. In addition to suffering from the heat, I may have developed a slight case of food poisoning and, as a consequence, I spent the best part of a day-and-a-half recuperating. Fortunately, I recovered in time to take advantage of a very kind invitation to visit a rather fine golf club - where, although I only managed to play the first nine holes, we were using buggies: so, I completed the course by just putting out the remaining holes before enjoying the excellent clubhouse facilities. My wife and I worked in golf for the best part of twenty years and, when we left, in the late eighties, some progressive clubs were starting to take advantage of technology - using computers, for example, to assess handicaps. I doubt, however, if anyone in those days could have imagined golf buggies would be equipped with GPS systems that tell the golfer the exact distance to the hole (and where it is on the green) together with information such as the location of hazards and a comprehensive record of everyone's score. For my part, I was pretty amazed. Since that enjoyable experience, although I've been kept quite active (visiting my grandsons' schools, a local mall, a bank-holiday flea-market, a BBQ and trying my hand at cycling for the first time in over forty years) the other highlight of my stay has been attending a Memorial Day Parade. Without wishing to make too much of an issue of it, it's hard to deny that many folk in the USA seem to place a higher value on demonstrating their patriotism than most of us do in the UK............    Miscellaneous 05/25/2010
This is another one of those blogs which could fit into more than one category; so, as was the case last time, I've opted for 'Miscellaneous'. Evidently, during my absense, the UK has been experiencing a spell of warm weather. Good for them - but, I doubt if it will have been as warm as it has been here, today - nearly 100 degrees (in old money) apparently. Great weather for doing nothing - but, not too comfortable for the likes of golf, for example. Not long after arriving, on Friday, Lloyd kitted me out with a half-set of clubs and took me to the practice ground at his golf club. That seemed to work OK; so, yesterday, we met up with some friends of his and I managed nine holes without too much trouble. Not bad after eighteen months away from the game, I thought. What's more, I completed the game using the same ball with which I had started!! Last night, we went to his local bar - where, amongst several others, I met the owner. Evidently, he's a keen golfer and we arranged to meet up for a game this afternoon. However, as I mentioned earlier, it's very hot; so, I chickened out - electing to walk to the Post Office which is on the other side of town. On the way, I saw this sign - which amused me.....  Having enjoyed the walk to the Post Office, in a rather ill-judged display of bravado, I decided to take the scenic (but, lengthy) way back to the town - and, in so doing, arrived back at Lloyd's place soaked to the skin in sweat and absolutely knackered. Hopefully, the hot bath I've just had will help ease the pain. Miscellaneous 05/23/2010
Before starting a blog, I decide which category (see right) it should be put into. Today, however, what I'm about to report could be described as a stroll down 'Memory Lane' as well as being a 'Ramble' during 'Retirement'. So, the obvious solution is to put it in 'Miscellaneous'........ Although getting about isn't normally too much of a problem, negotiating airports is a challenge for my wife; so, when I booked our flight to and from the USA, I requested wheelchair assistance. Not surprisingly, the Virgin Atlantic staff providing that service at Heathrow were commendable. Sadly, however, and not for the first time in my own experience, what we encountered at JFK was awful. As far as I could tell, there were only two men assigned to push at least five wheelchairs from our aircraft into the terminal. As a consequence, the chap looking after my wife was trying to push somebody else's wheelchair at the same time; so, I ended up pushing her (my wife, not the other person). Heaven knows what someone a little more senile than myself would have done. To add to our problems, it seems that JFK is one of very few airports in the world where a fee is required to get a trolley. Putting aside my natural reluctance to pay for a service I expect to be free, I hadn't any cash because it had been my intention to get US money at the airport - and those facilities were a little further along the line from where we were. The upshot of all this is that I had to 'hook' our bags together (a bit like a train) in order to exit the airport.  Whilst planning our trip, we had decided to take a bus ride rather than a taxi into Manhattan. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - but, had we known how bad the weather would be in New York when we arrived, we would have taken a taxi. Apart from the fact that we got soaked whilst transferring our luggage from the bus to a taxi at Grand Central, it had been so overcast during the journey that we didn't even see the Manhattan skyline (which had been the whole point in taking a bus). Fortunately, however, the view from our bedroom was a lot better on the following morning..........  We were in New York for four days and, in that time - amongst other things, we visited two friends, took a cruise around the island, and attended a Suzanne Vega concert where we saw Lloyd's new Small Ensemble for the first time. We and our guest had been allocated some very nice seats quite close to the stage. However, Lloyd thought that the sound might not be too good for us because we were right underneath one of the amplifiers - but, to be perfectly honest, I thought it was OK. Getting a special mention from Lloyd caught his mother and I off guard a bit - but, so long as he only does it every fifty years, we can live with it.   Miscellaneous 05/04/2010
Get up and go. More observant visitors to this neck of the web (especially the Rambling blog) may have noticed I'm not getting out and about quite as much as I used to. There's no need to dwell of the whys and wherefores, but I've taken steps (get it?) to get back into shape. Miscellaneous 04/28/2010
This is one of the better 'circular' e-mails I've received recently....... See if you can figure out what these words have in common. See if you can figure it out - NO peeking! 1 Banana 2 Dresser 3 Grammar 4 Potato 5 Revive 6 Uneven 7 Assess Give it another try Look at each word carefully. No, it is not that they all have at least 2 double letters. Answer: In all of the words listed, if you take the first letter, place it at the end of the word, and then spell the word backwards, it will be the same word. Did you figure it out? No? Then send it to more people and stump them as well. Then, you'll feel better too. Miscellaneous 04/23/2010
A few days ago, I blogged about some T shirts I ordered from a company from whom I had previously taken advantage of a free offer for some business cards. At the time, I had also ordered a couple of mugs with the logo of my web-site. Shortly after they were delivered, the company sent an e-mail asking if I was satisfied with their service - and this gave me the opportunity to explain that, although impressed by the quality of the product, I was disappointed that the photograph and the text were out of kilter (see below).  Almost immediately, I received a reply from the company saying that (at no cost whatsoever) they would send me replacement mugs up to the standard I had hoped for.......  They arrived today and, in addition to pointing out that I'm completely satisfied with the new mugs, I'm very happy to put on record my appreciation for the way they dealt with the matter. I cannot recommend them highly enough - www.vistaprint.co.uk | Welcome:Originally a record of a bus and coach delivery driver's experiences, this blog will now attempt to explain the effects of retirement. For example, cataloguing a collection of model vehicles. CategoriesAll |
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